India and Pakistan decided Monday to continue the ceasefire which is in force since Nov. 25, 2003.

India and Pakistan also decided to have technical-level talks on Munabao-Kokrapar rail link in October-November this year, the Press Trust of India quoted External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh as saying after two days of meetings with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri here.

Both countries decided to discuss conventional and nuclear Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), Singh said.

The two sides also decided that the coast guards of both the countries will discuss a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation.

Natwar Singh said Pakistan foreign minister had invited him to visit that country and he has accepted the invitation.

Addressing the joint press conference, Kasuri said that he raised the human rights situation in Kashmir and emphasized the centrality of the issue which he said had caused tension and three wars between the two countries.

However, he said, it is a matter of common sense that in order to have durable peace in South Asia, this (Kashmir) issue will have to be resolved, hopefully sooner than later.

Kasuri said a joint statement would be issued two days later and hoped that progress would be made on all the eight items of the Composite Dialogue Process.

On the nuclear and conventional CBMs, he said experts would meet soon to discuss the proposals made by either side and would be submitting their views to the respective governments.

Asked when the second round of the Composite Dialogue would take place, Singh said the two foreign secretaries are meeting in December, which would be preceded by a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month.

On the issue of re-opening of the Karachi and Mumbai consulates to facilitate travel between India and Pakistan, Singh said both sides were committed to reopen them at the earliest.